The average length of stay for patients of Columbus (Ind.) Regional Hospital's emergency department doubled during a switch to an electronic health records system the week of June 24, and the times are still longer than usual, according to a report by The Republic.
Carolyn O'Neal, director of nursing, said the department's average stays for fast track and acute-care patients were well below the national average before the switch, according to the report. Before the switch, fast track patients averaged stays of two hours and 25 minutes, and acute-care patients averaged two hours and 32 minutes.
The week of the switch, the times jumped to four hours and 41 minutes for fast track patients and four hours and 13 minutes for acute-care patients, according to the report. About three weeks after implementation, fast track patients stay at the hospital for an average of two hours and 39 minutes, and acute-care patients stay for three hours and 10 minutes. "As the staff has become more familiar with the new system, stays have become shorter," Ms. O'Neal told The Republic. "When [we] move[d] to electronic [health records], the staff had to be very careful to make sure they did things accurately," Ms. O'Neal said.
According to the report, more nurses are being added to the ED staff to bring the length of stay down to pre-EHR system levels. In addition, the hospital staff is identifying issues with the EHR system that may have hurt efficiency.
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Carolyn O'Neal, director of nursing, said the department's average stays for fast track and acute-care patients were well below the national average before the switch, according to the report. Before the switch, fast track patients averaged stays of two hours and 25 minutes, and acute-care patients averaged two hours and 32 minutes.
The week of the switch, the times jumped to four hours and 41 minutes for fast track patients and four hours and 13 minutes for acute-care patients, according to the report. About three weeks after implementation, fast track patients stay at the hospital for an average of two hours and 39 minutes, and acute-care patients stay for three hours and 10 minutes. "As the staff has become more familiar with the new system, stays have become shorter," Ms. O'Neal told The Republic. "When [we] move[d] to electronic [health records], the staff had to be very careful to make sure they did things accurately," Ms. O'Neal said.
According to the report, more nurses are being added to the ED staff to bring the length of stay down to pre-EHR system levels. In addition, the hospital staff is identifying issues with the EHR system that may have hurt efficiency.
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